


Resolution

by aretia



Series: Bureaucratic Holiday Gifts [8]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Breakfast, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Morning Cuddles, New Year's Eve, New Years, Other, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28463334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia
Summary: Resolution: (1) a goal for the new year. (2) an ending of a story.Gabriel’s first New Year’s after moving in together with Beelzebub is a glimpse into a happy ending, that sometimes feels like a new beginning.
Relationships: Beelzebub/Gabriel (Good Omens)
Series: Bureaucratic Holiday Gifts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034811
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	Resolution

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Euny_Sloane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euny_Sloane/gifts).



> Euny, your writing has affected me in a way nothing else ever has. [“I got a feeling this will shake me down”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23168716/chapters/55454173) (or as we affectionately call it, Boots) cracked open something raw and desperate inside of me, and I have never been the same since. Which is why I was a little surprised when your request sort of went in the exact opposite direction of that. I hope this will make you feel warm and cozy.

“You’re going to lose,” Gabriel said, with utmost confidence.

Beelzebub’s answering glance was skeptical. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“I’m telling you, I’m not even tired,” Gabriel insisted. 

“Oh yeah? You’ve been yawning every two minutes,” Beelzebub pointed out. “You know, you can go to bed if you want.”

“And lose the bet? Not a chance,” said Gabriel. “You aren’t seriously talking about dropping the bet, are you?”

“Nope,” said Beelzebub flatly. 

“Then I’m not going to bed.” 

Gabriel and Beelzebub had made a bet. Gabriel had bet that he could stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. Beelzebub had bet against him, saying that the night that Gabriel stayed up past his bedtime would be the night that hell froze over. It was true that they had evidence on their side, Gabriel being a habitual morning person who always fell asleep early even when he didn’t mean to, but Gabriel was determined to prove them wrong this time. If only because the smug satisfaction of beating Beelzebub in a competition was a thrill that would never get old. 

The terms of the bet were that if Beelzebub won, and Gabriel did in fact fall asleep before midnight, then he would have to skip his morning jog and stay in bed with Beelzebub until they woke up the next day. So all in all, a victory either way. Not much was at stake except for his pride. Then again, not much else was more important to Gabriel.

Gabriel stifled another yawn behind his hand, and made up an excuse. “It’s… it’s the TV program. It’s boring me to sleep.”

“You’re the one who insisted that we watch this trite crap anyway,” Beelzebub said. Their mouth stretched in a sneering smile. “Want to watch something else? We could finally watch that horror movie I’ve been wanting to show you. I bet that would keep you awake all night.”

“No, thanks.” Neither of them made any move to change the channel. 

Beside him, Beelzebub shivered. They brought their knees up to their chest and curled their arms tightly around themself.

“You cold?” Gabriel asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Beelzebub said, even as they rubbed their hands up and down their arms in an obvious attempt to warm up.

Beelzebub was small and sensitive to cold, and they would bite the head off of anyone who dared to mention either of those things out loud. But if they would let Gabriel help even when they were being stubborn about it, then that was all he could ask. He scooted closer to them on the couch and tucked his arm around them, so that their head rested on his shoulder. Then, he pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over both of them, keeping them insulated in his body heat.

“Is that better?” said Gabriel.

“Mm.” Beelzebub didn’t want to admit it, but the way they snuggled against his side indicated that they appreciated it. Their hand underneath the blanket idly stroked his leg in soothing motions from his knee to his mid-thigh. The casual contact from Beelzebub made warmth bloom in his chest, independently of the blanket.

Gabriel realized too late that he had fallen into their trap. “You’re doing this on purpose,” he said.

“Doing what?” Beelzebub asked innocently. 

“Trying to tempt me into falling asleep by getting me under the cozy blanket.” Gabriel wanted to glare at them, but it was easier to rest his cheek on top of their head. “You can’t win the bet if you don’t play fair.”

“Hey, I never said anything about playing fair,” Beelzebub said. All but a confession, then. Gabriel smiled. He should have anticipated that.

He knew that these little bets of theirs were ridiculous, but it was part of who they were. They were two extremely competitive people who could make a contest out of anything, and instead of hurting each other over petty feuds like they had in the past, they had found a way to turn it into a fun game. They were the same kind of ridiculous. Gabriel had never been more grateful that he had found someone who would let him be ridiculous with them. 

Still, Gabriel wasn’t giving up. He could win this bet even in spite of Beelzebub’s dirty tricks. He was just closing his eyes for a moment.

~

Gabriel blinked his eyes open. He rolled his neck back. He groaned when he realized that fallen asleep on the couch, and more importantly, lost the bet.

He expected Beelzebub to make some snide comment about it, but the living room was silent except for the TV droning on in front of him. He glanced beside him, and found Beelzebub nestled up against his side, their head on his shoulder, fast asleep. 

Gabriel huffed a quiet laugh through his nose. It was only poetic justice that after making fun of him for getting tired early, they would end up dozing off too. 

Still, it was rare to see them asleep before midnight under any circumstances. Beelzebub was as much of an incorrigible night owl as Gabriel was an early bird. They had an opposites-attract sort of magnetism, a match that by all means seemed like it shouldn’t work. But it did, because they were equals in every way that mattered. An exercise in contrasts.

The countdown flashed across the TV. _Three, two, one._ The ball of light reached the bottom of its descent, and confetti exploded on the screen. 

Gabriel leaned over and pressed a kiss to Beelzebub’s forehead. “Happy New Year, Beelzebub,” he whispered.

He picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Then, he slid his arm around Beelzebub’s shoulders, careful to keep their head cradled against his chest so as not to wake them up. His other arm slipped underneath their thighs and lifted them up, and he carried them upstairs to the bedroom. 

He was reminded of childhood memories of falling asleep on the car ride home, and waking up in his bed. It had made him feel safe and protected, to know that someone had carried him to a comfortable place to sleep. He hoped that Beelzebub received the same message when they woke up in a different place than they fell asleep. They deserved to know that they were cared for and loved.

He laid them down on the bed, then climbed into bed beside them and pulled the covers up over both of them. He held them close, and let the warmth lull him back to sleep.

~

There wasn’t anything special about the morning of New Year’s Day, but Gabriel liked to think that it set the tone of the year to come. If that was the case, and he was to spend every morning for the next year waking up next to Beelzebub, he certainly wouldn’t complain.

Pale winter sunlight streamed through the blinds. The light caressed their collarbone, skin exposed by the stretched-out sweatshirt that they wore to bed. Their bared neck, the soft curves of their cheeks, their fingers curled up next to the side of the pillow all looked nearly irresistible to kiss, but he didn’t want to break the spell of the quiet moment. 

Or wake them up before they were ready. That was a sure way to get a pillow thrown at his face.

Their eyelids parted, just a sliver at first. Their eyes opened to find him leaning over them, propping himself up on one elbow. 

“Good morning,” Gabriel greeted them.

“Morning,” Beelzebub said in a voice hoarse with sleep. They always insisted on replying that way, on the basis that no morning was ever good before they’d had their coffee. Gabriel disagreed with them on that point, but he liked how it had become part of their routine. “You lost the bet.”

“You weren’t awake to declare victory,” Gabriel replied, unable to hold back a smile.

Beelzebub sighed, and closed their eyes again. “But you still stayed.”

“Yeah, I did,” Gabriel said. “Because I’m a man of my word.”

He didn’t want to admit that it was because tearing his eyes away from them would have been too much effort. The affection welling up inside him was too big and it weighed him down. But he couldn’t say that in as many words to Beelzebub, who would probably tease him for it. 

Beelzebub seemed to sense what he needed without him having to ask for it. Their arms slid around his shoulders, and their fingers stroked the soft hair on the back of his neck, sending a shiver of pleasure through him. He pressed his nose against their cheek, and then tilted his head, brushing his lips against theirs almost hesitantly, as if asking for permission to take something already freely given. They met him with a passionate kiss, and he felt his affection mirrored back to him with equal fervor. 

It wasn’t a weight. It was a lightness, a beat of wings, buoying him up. It only felt heavy when he was forced to hold it inside his body, because it was too big and not meant to be kept there. But now that he had the opportunity to release it, to share it with them, it only grew lighter and stronger.

Beelzebub’s lips drew a satisfied hum out of him as they pulled away. 

Then, they rolled back over in the bed and buried their face in a pillow. A soft groan rose from them, muffled by the fabric. He was getting better at reading their nonverbal signals, and he had a feeling that what they were trying to say without saying was that they were hungry and needed caffeine. 

“Want breakfast?” he asked.

“I don’t want to get up,” Beelzebub grumbled. 

“We can work with that,” Gabriel said, his smile clear in his voice even though they weren’t looking at him. He pressed a kiss to the top of their head and got up, leaving Beelzebub there in the warm covers. 

Gabriel had always been a morning person, but he wasn’t always a breakfast person. He was more of a cup-of-coffee-and-nothing-else person. Left to his own devices, he would consider coffee a suitable substitute for a meal at any time of day. 

That is, until he met Beelzebub, who discovered his habit of skipping meals and got personally offended on his behalf. Early on in their relationship, they had insisted on getting him to try new foods until he viewed eating as something enjoyable and not just something tolerable. They had also exposed him to the effect that making food for someone, and watching their face light up when they took the first bite, could have on the heart of a person who was already infatuated with them. 

That was the high he was chasing when he decided to make Beelzebub breakfast in bed. New Year’s was as good an excuse as any. He made a pot of coffee, and then set to work preparing breakfast on the stove.

He realized that his plan had been thwarted, however, when he heard light footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked up and saw Beelzebub standing in the doorway, their slumped posture suggesting that they weren’t entirely committed to being awake yet. 

They were wearing fluffy socks with flies on them to keep their feet warm. Their sleep shirt was one of his old sweatshirts that they had claimed by stretching it out. He had complained about it at the time, but he had to admit it looked better on them. The collar hung off one shoulder, the hem of the sweatshirt skimmed across their upper thighs, and the sleeves engulfed their hands. He had definitely spent too long staring by now, but they didn’t seem to mind. 

“You’re up,” Gabriel observed.

Beelzebub folded their arms and glanced at the floor. “Cold without you,” they muttered.

Gabriel blinked. It was rare to hear such an admission coming from Beelzebub, one full of such naked need. He didn’t respond in words, in case they retreated again into their shell of stubborn independence. Instead, he held out his hand and beckoned them closer. He wanted to show them that it was safe to ask for what they needed. If he could take care of them when they needed him, maybe he wouldn’t feel so unsettled by how desperately he needed them.

They padded over into the kitchen, and stepped behind Gabriel where he was standing at the stove. Their arms encircled his waist, and they rested their head against his back, just below his shoulder blades. He hummed and leaned back against them to deepen the contact.

They wriggled their hands out of the oversized sleeves to place them against his bare chest. “What’re you making?” they mumbled.

“Tofu scramble,” he replied. 

“It’s vegan? Gross,” Beelzebub scoffed.

“You eat bugs. I hardly think you have a say in what’s gross,” Gabriel retorted.

“Crickets are the protein of the future.”

“Well, you could put your cricket powder on this to make it not vegan, if you wanted,” Gabriel quipped. 

“There is no way you’re getting me to eat that,” Beelzebub said. They removed their arms from his waist and walked over to the coffee pot. They got out their oversized mug that read _World’s Worst Boss_ , filled it almost to the brim with coffee, then sat down in a kitchen chair. “I want waffles.”

“All right,” Gabriel said, as if it hadn’t been his original plan all along to make separate breakfasts for each of them. He took the pan with the finished tofu scramble off the stove, and started looking for the mixing bowl. “But you always complain that I undercook them.”

“You do! The only way you’re going to get them right is if you try them for yourself,” Beelzebub needled him.

“Come on, Beez. You know I don’t eat sweet stuff,” Gabriel said.

“You know I know you do, just not when anyone is looking,” Beelzebub replied, giving him a pointed look over the rim of their coffee mug.

Gabriel sighed. One time they had found candy wrappers in his trash can, and they were never going to let him live it down. “Fine. How about another bet?” he said.

Beelzebub looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. “Oh? What exactly are you proposing?”

“I will make you waffles, and I will eat one. If…” he said, meeting their eyes in a challenge, “you try the tofu scramble.”

Beelzebub’s expression went from horrified to resigned in the span of less than a second. “Fine. Give it here,” they muttered. Gabriel deposited a spoonful of the yellow tofu on a plate, and placed it in front of Beelzebub. He stood next to them with a grin on his face, eagerly awaiting their review, as they speared a piece with their fork and stuck it into their mouth. “Huh. It’s not bad, actually.”

“I told you so,” said Gabriel triumphantly.

It was the start of a new day, at the start of a new year, and still the beginning of this new life they were building together. Some things were the same as they had always been, their ridiculous bets and effortless bickering. But at the same time, Gabriel felt something new unfolding between them every day, some new way that love made a home between his ribs. 

Beelzebub had said on their first date, three years ago, that they could tell that Gabriel was the type of person who made New Year’s resolutions just by looking at him. He made one that morning not to let a moment of this feeling slip through his fingers. He didn’t ever want it to end.


End file.
